Cantilever rotary reclaimer



FIG. 4.

FIG. 5.

Dec. 28, 1965 3,225,943

J. SASADI CANTILEVER ROTARY RECLAIMER Filed May 29, 1962 FIG.

INVENTOR John Sasadi ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 28, 1965 J. SASADI CANTILEVER ROTARY RECLAIMER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Filed May 29, 1962 United States Patent 3,225,943 CANTILEVER ROTARY RECLAIMER John Sasadi, Newark, N.J., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Hewitt Robins, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 29, 1962, Ser. No. 198,667 6 Claims. (Cl. 214-) This invention pertains to reclaimers and in particular to a reversible, rotary bucket wheel reclaimer.

Bucket wheel reclaimers comprise bucket wheels mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis. They are usually supported on a frame which is adapted to advance towards the face of a pile of bulk material. Very often the frame spans the face of the pile of material to be reclaimed and the bucket wheel is advanced into the face by means of advancing the supporting frame or device. In one such form of reclaimer the frame supports the carriage, which in turn supports the bucket wheel. The carriage rides on rails on the frame and is driven back and forth along the length of the frame. It is preferred that the wheel be supported so that a directly vertical load is placed on the frame. It is also found that by supporting the wheel on the carriage so that the wheel surrounds the truss of the frame the latter can be elevated with the wheel extending below it. In such a construction the size of the truss or bridge member surrounded by the wheel is necessarily a function of the wheel and vice versa. In other words, they are inter-dependent. Although multiple truss constructions can be employed wherein the wheel surrounds 'only a portion of the complete truss system, it will be still recognized that there is this inter-dependence; i.e., truss size and wheel diameter.

In certain circumstances it can be shown technically desirable and feasible to utilize a structure wherein the truss is not a function of the wheel diameter and vice versa. Among the many factors which dictate wheel size, speed of traverse, truss size and type of truss to use are the pile width, the speed of reclaiming needed, the character of the terrain, the foundation costs and the cost of real estate. These economic factors can influence the selection of the design. With these factors in mind, according to this invention there is provided a bucket wheel reclaiming device comprising a bucket wheel and harrow adapted to sweep the face of a pile wherein the bucket wheel is suspended from the truss but to one side of it. This may be desirable for a machine to be used with a very wide pile, such as a pile 200 feet in width or greater, as it may facilitate design of the supporting truss. Furthermore, it will make it possible to utilize an intermediate support for the truss and a single carriage which can traverse the whole width of the truss.

One other advantage designed to be provided by the instant invention is that of providing a bucket wheel reclaimer which has a wheel rotatable in one direction wherein the reclaimer can be used to attack piles from both sides of the bridge-like frame member, or other device, on which the wheel and carriage is supported. Such a device may be preferable Where real estate problems are more acute; i.e., where high cost real estate dictates maximum utilization of the land or where the only flat land or otherwise suitable land is relatively small in acre-age as compared to the required amounts of mate-rial that need to be bedded and reclaimed. In many heretofore known reclaiming installations it is possible to lay material side by side and while one pile is being reclaimed another can be in the process of being built up. Instead of this procedure, however, material can be deposited behind the reclaimer as it advances. Thus the reclaimer is, in a sense, always between two "ice piles, one of which it is acting on. In some situations similar to the latter it may be desirable to provide a bucket wheel recl-aimer which can be reversed so as to retreat over the ground upon which it made its initial reclaiming movement while still functioning as a reclaimer. The instant invention pertains to such a reclaimer.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a means for supporting a bucket wheel reclaimer; i.e., a bucket wheel and harrow combination to the side of the carriage and frame on which it is supported.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bucket wheel harrow combination supported to the side of the carriage which can be adjusted relative the pile.

A further object is to provide a structure wherein the harrow can be adjusted relative the wheel. These and other objects and advantages Will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of a reclaimer constructed in accordance with the invention with some elements sectioned.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating another form of harrow.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating a second form of crawler which may be employed as a supporting means for a bridge.

FIGURE 5 is a rear elevational view of the crawler of FIGURE 4.

Referring now in particular to the drawings: the recl-aimer comprises a bridge or truss 10. The truss is provided with sets of trucks '12, 14, 16, and 18 having wheels which are adapted to movably support the bridge from the ground. As illustrated, track-like concrete emplacements 20 and 22 can be used to guide the movement of the bridge. The bridge supports a belt conveyor 24. The belt conveyor is adapted to deliver material deposited on it into a conveyor 26 extending along the length of the pile. A traveling hopper 28 may be used to guide the material from the bridge conveyor 24 into the conveyor 26. A carriage 30 is supported on the bridge for movement therealong. The movable support is accomplished by means of rails 32 and 34 mounted on top of the bridge and flanged wheels 36 and 38 connected to the carriage and mounted on the rails. Guide rollers 40 and cooperating rails 42 are also employed to facilitate tracking of the carriage and to resist side thrust. A hopper 44 and suitable skirt-boards 45 are provided on the carriage and adapted to receive material and deposit it on the conveyor 24 as the carriage moves along the bridge. Structures such as the bridge, traveling carriage, hopper, conveyors and the arrangement of piles and methods of reclaiming are well known in the art. It will also be recognized that the wheels such as 12 can be powered by any known drive means for the purpose of effecting movement of the bridge in both forward and reverse directions. Upon the carriage there is mounted a circular track 46. A turn-table 48 is mounted on the track by means of wheels 50. The turn-table has supports 52 and 54 which pivotally support a boom 56. The boom 56 supports a belt conveyor 58 as well as a bucket wheel digging device 60 and a transfer mechanism for transferring material from the bucket wheel to the belt conveyor 58.

The construction of the bucket wheel, its supporting means, the material transfer means between the bucket wheel and the belt conveyor 58, and the bridge-like arm 56 as well as the pivotal support therefore on the brackets such as 52 and 54, and the methods of interconnecting and driving these elements are known in the art. Ac-

cording to my invention I provide a truss or frame 62 extending rearwardly of the hopper 44 and forwardly over the wheel. The truss supports hoist winch means 64 consisting of a hoisting motor, a reduction gear, and drums, cable 66 and sheaves 68. The sheaves 68 are provided at each side of the frame 62. The sheaves 68 are connected to supports 70 which are pivotally connected at their lower end to frame 56 by suitable pins 71. As previously indicated, these members are provided in pairs, with one member 70 extending down along each side of the wheel frame combination 56 and 60. It will :be apparent upon operation of the winch motor that the bucket wheel and its associated supporting mechanism can be raised and lowered with respect to the frame 62.

Pairs of links 72, 74, 76 and 78 extend upwardly from the frame 62 and are pivotally supported thereon. These paired links in turn pivot-ally interconnect arms 80 and 82, which are provided in pairs, one on each side of the frame 62. These arms are respectively pivoted to the frame at 84 and to a harrow 86 at 88 at their opposite ends. Each of the arms 80 and 82 embody turn buckle means 90 and 92 respectively, which can be operated in the known manner to shorten the length of the respective arms. At its lower end the harrow extends along the sides of the wheel in the known manner and is provided with an arm 94 pivotally connected to the boom 56 for pivoting action about the same axis as that to which arms 70 are connected. Again it will be understood that the harrow extends along both sides of the wheel and has a pair of the upstanding arm members 94, one on each side of the wheel. The arm 82 and the boom 56 are interconnected with the harrow 86 so that a parallelogram connection of the harrow, links 82, and boom 56 can be obtained.

It will be noted, as is known in the art, that the turnbuckle 82 can be adjusted so as to adjust the angle. of slope of the pile. This will be done when the slope needs adjusting. The harrow rakes the pile and thus the pile slope will change with the change in slope of the harrow. The turnbuckle 80 is adjusted so that at the finally selected slope the parallelogram association of the link 82, boom 56 and harrow is obtained. The phantom lines in FIGURES 2 and 3 illustrate the change in relative position of the elements in adjusting the bucket wheel and harrow to different elevations from those indicated by the solid lines in these figures (see below). Now it will be noticed that by operation of the winch 64 the bucket wheel can be raised and lowered while maintaining the harrow at the desired angle of slope. In some locales it will be desirable to raise the bucket wheel to move it over impediments such as frozen portions of the pile adjacent the bottom thereof. In such a situation the parallelogram arrangement provides for adjusting of the vertical position of the wheel without disarrangement of the wheel-harrow relationship.

The structure is designed so that the wheel can be raised sufficiently above its normal operating position so that the turn-table 48 can be rotated upon the carriage 30 to change the position of the wheel from that which is indicated in solid lines in FIGURE 2 to that indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 2. Thus when the reclaimer reaches an end of the pile it can be swung around and moved immediately back into the new pile which has been built up behind the reclaimer as it was advancing. Accordingly the reclaimer and stacking apparatus can be continually operating along a single bedding area and while material is being reclaimed more material can be in the process of being deposited immediately behind the reclaimed. One advantage of such an operation is that the need for a transfer mechanism at the end of the bedding area can be eliminated.

The harrow 86 can comprise the usual tooth-like members and supporting frame. In FIGURE 3 there is shown another form of harrow having teeth-like membe-rs 96 supported on the movable belt 98 operable to actively rake the piles downwardly at the same time as the reclaimer is being swept across the pile. In this instance the arm 94 is provided with a motor support 109 and suitable motor and drive means 102 and 104 are provided for actuating the belt.

FIGURE 3 clearly illustrates in phantom lines the change in relative positions of the arms of the parallelogram linkage, that interconnects and supports the bucket wheel and the harrow, whenever the vertical position of the bucket wheel is changed. Thus as the bucket wheel 106 is raised from its lower position boom 168, link 110 and harrow 96, 98 move up accordingly. Note that, as also illustrated in FIGURE 2 with respect to harrow 86, harrow 968 maintains the same slope at its working face throughout the vertical movement of the wheel. It Will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that such a large range of movement as illustrated would unlikely be employed in actual practice during the reclaiming of the piles illustrated. The movement is exaggerated in these figures in order to obtain an improved illustration.

In FIGURES 4 and 5 there is illustrated an alternative form of supporting mechanism consisting of crawlers which can be used in place of the trucks 14, 16 and/or 12 and 18. The crawlers have tractor-like treads I12 and associating tread supporting and driving means, which are well known in the art. These provide a wheeled frame as set forth in some of the appended claims.

While I have shown and described a preferred form of my invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes can be made, and accordingly, I claim exclusive right to all modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a reclaimer comprising a wheeled frame movable toward a pile of material and a bucket wheel supported by said frame and movable across the face of the pile while supported on said frame, and having a harrow extending upwardly and forwardly of said wheel to rake a pile in front of said wheel and wherein said wheel and harrow can be raised and lowered with respect to said frame, the improvement wherein the means supporting said wheel and harrow on said frame comprises a parallelogram linkage interconnecting said wheel and harrow said linkage being operable to maintain a selected angular position of said harrow relative said wheel during raising and lowering movements of said wheel and har row relative said frame.

2. The reclaimer of claim 1, including means for adjusting paid linkage to adjust the angle of said harrow with respect to said frame and said wheel.

3. A reclaimer comprising a wheeled frame adapted to be advanced towards the face of a pile to be reclaimed, a boom pivotally mounted on said frame for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis to effect movement of said boom in a vertical plane, a bucket wheel supported on said boom for rotation about a horizontal axis, means supported from said frame above said boom and adapted to raise and lower said boom, a harrow, means supporting said harrow on said frame at an angle with respect to said frame and to said wheel, a linkage forming with said frame, said boom and harrow a parallelogram system whereby said wheel and boom can be raised and lowered while maintaining a selected angular relationship between said harrow and said wheel.

4. The reclaimer of claim 3 including means for adjusting the angular relationship of said harrow relative said wheel.

5. The reclaimer of claim 3 including a turn-table supported on said frame, means supporting said boom, said harrow and said linkage upon said turn-table, said boom, wheel and harrow being movable above said frame for movement of said wheel and harrow from one side to the other of said frame upon rotation of said turntable whereby said wheel and harrow mechanism can be used for reclaiming material upon movement of said frame towards a pile facing either of opposite sides of said frame.

6. The reclaimer of claim 3 wherein said linkage comprises -a link pivotally connected to said frame at one end and pivotally connected to said harrow at its opposite end, said link extending parallel to said boom, said link forming part of said means supporting said harrow, means pivotally connecting said harrow to said boom, the length of said link being substantially the same as the length of said boom between the point of pivotal support on said boom of said frame and the point of pivotal connection of said boom to said harrow.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

MORRIS TEMIN, HUGO O. SCHULZ, Examiners. 

1. IN A RECLAIMER COMPRISING A WHEELED FRAME MOVABLE TOWARD A PILE OF MATERIAL AND A BUCKET WHEEL SUPPORTED BY SAID FRAME AND MOVABLE ACROSS THE FACE OF THE PILE WHILE SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME, AND HAVING A HARROW EXTENDING UPWARDLY AND FORWARDLY OF SAID WHEEL TO RAKE A PILE IN FRONT OF SAID WHEEL AND WHEREIN SAID WHEEL AND HARROW CAN BE RAISED AND LOWERED WITH RESPECT TO SAID FRAME, THE IMPROVEMENT WHEREIN THE MEANS SUPPORTING SAID WHEEL AND HARROW ON SAID FRAME COMPRISES A PARALLELOGRAM LINKAGE INTERCONNECTING SAID WHEEL AND HARROW SAID LINKAGE BEING OPERABLE TO MAINTAIN A SELECTED ANGULAR POSITION OF SAID HARROW RELATIVE SAID WHEEL DURING RAISING AND LOWERING MOVEMENTS OF SAID WHEEL AND HARROW RELATIVE SAID FRAME. 